Sempiternal Academy of Modern Magic
by misfit-right-in
Summary: Founded at the rise of the new millennium, Sempiternal was born of a group of four witches' and wizards' wish to unite our two worlds. Rather than separating the study of magic and that of modern subjects, Sempiternal has given light to a new form of magic- Modern Magic, better defined as the combination of modern study and magic.
1. Introduction

_A Short and Somewhat Complete History of Sempiternal Academy of Modern Magic_

For many eternities, there has been a rigid line between the world of magic and that of muggles. The separation of these two worlds has often been controversial, to say the least, for such a strict rule is bound to have opposition.

Despite any controversy, magic has flourished this way around the world, everywhere from Beauxbatons Academy of Magic in France, to the Durmstrang Institute in Norway, as well as England's Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. However, as the times have changed, so has magic, which brings me to the topic of this discussion- the Sempiternal Academy of Modern Magic.

Founded at the rise of the new millennium, Sempiternal was born of a group of four witches' and wizards' wish to unite our two worlds. Rather than separating the study of magic and that of modern subjects, Sempiternal has given light to a new form of magic- Modern Magic, better defined as the combination of modern study and magic. This new form of education has given rise to some of the most powerful wizards to date.

Although only 15 years of age, Sempiternal has quickly risen through the ranks and has become one of the top schools for witches and wizards, alike. Currently, Sempiternal is considered the top school of magic with the United States of America, and ranks 3rd worldwide. Sempiternal's fresh and unique curriculum has always been a highlight of the school, not to mention the stunning campus.

Located along the Californian coast, Sempiternal boasts a grand seaside venue as well as glorious cliffs and mountain ranges. Students are also allowed to visit the nearby Ora Village, a lively wizarding community, filled with shops, dining, and entertainment. Ora Village includes many magical and muggle facilities, however, like Sempiternal, it is hidden away from the muggle world.

To further understand the Sempiternal Academy of Modern Magic, we must travel back into it's history and study it's founders:

Raleigh Ryder, Lennox Tillmen, Glade Fraiser, and Tripp Bender were all students of the Quiver Institute of Magic, located in New Orleans, Louisiana. The four friends, although quite different, agreed that a new age of magic was arriving and that a new school must be created to adapt to the new times. After nearly five years of planning, discussion, and building, Sempiternal Academy of Modern Magic opened September 1st, 2000 and has been growing at a rapid rate ever since. As with Hogwarts, the four founders agreed to separate Sempiternal into four main houses, but rather than separate students based on personality, students were sorted based on their goals.

Raleigh Ryder, determined that House Raleigh would be based on those who strive for perfection. The few who spent their hours working endlessly to achieve athletic skill, mental dominance, or strong sociability were all welcome in to the House Raleigh. House Raleigh is defined by the hard workers who don't take anything for granted. They preserve, are cautious, and often very successful. Despite this, those of House Raleigh are riddled with high stress and with the high rate of competitiveness within the house, these students can be very ruthless. House Raleigh is distinguished by it's mascot: the timberwolf and it's colors: navy blue and silver.

House Lennox, was based on those who strive for adventure. The curious, courageous, and often times reckless, fall into place in House Lennox. The witches and wizards of House Lennox are very fiery and passionate, and quite stubborn. These students also tend to have the most behavioral issues and considered the loudest house of Sempiternal, however, House Lennox is home to some of the smartest students, due to their curious and questioning behavior. House Lennox is defined by it's mascot- the scorpion and it's colors- orange and white.

Glade Fraiser decided the moment Sempiternal opened, his house would be based on those who strive for the betterment of themselves and the world around them. Regarded highly as some of the best leaders, House Glade is home to a variety of personalities. Many members of House Glade are intelligent, self-aware individuals who have the perfect balance of strong social skills and independence. House Glade is known for it's heated debates and many of their members have a difficult time letting go of small matters. House Glade is established by it's mascot: the bear and it's colors: teal and gold

Finally, House Tripp is home to those who strive for fulfillment and happiness. Those from House Tripp have strong values and often defined by their ability to live life in the moment. Those from House Tripp as very well-rounded, but sometimes have difficulty expressing themselves. Within the halls of Sempiternal, House Tripp is home to both the most and least popular students. Those of House Tripp are good with advice and have a variety of strong, healthy relationships. House Tripp is depicted by it's mascot- the lynx and it's colors- purple and bronze.

Currently, all four founders continue to teach at Sempiternal Professor Ryder teaches charms, Professor Tillmen teaches potions, Professor Fraiser teaches technology, and Professor Bender teaches Latin. Individually, they act as the heads of their houses, but together they act as the headmasters/mistresses of the school.

With that ends our brief dive into the Sempiternal Academy of Modern Magic. Good luck in the new school year and we hope to see you soon!

* * *

 **Author's Note:** So if you weren't already aware, this story is going to be a SYOC taking place at the Sempiternal Academy of Modern Magic. If you are interested in submitting a character, please refer to my profile for more information! Characters for the story will be announced by July 31st, latest. Any reviews would be highly appreciated and I really look forward to hearing from all of you!

\- Cass


	2. Staff, Classes, and Characters!

_Sempiternal Academy of Modern Magic Staff and Classes_

 **Sempiternal's magical curriculum includes:**

 **Astronomy** \- At Sempiternal _,_ Astronomy is taught by Professor Acel Jean-Luc. Having just graduated from Sempiternal itself, Professor Jean-Luc is Sempiternal's newest staff member. Young and vibrant, Professor Jean-Luc shows a lot of potential to become and great teacher. Astronomy is one of the few night classes taught at the school and is held on the beach as well as at the astronomy tower.

 **Charms** \- Taught by founder Raleigh Ryder, charms is a very important class to any wizard. Professor Ryder takes her role as a teacher very seriously and is anything but an easy grader. Professor Ryder expects high quality and strong work from all her students. However, if you work hard in her class, you will reach success. Charms is structured unlike any other classes at Sempiternal, in that Professor Ryder posts a public ranking of all her students every week.

 **Defense Against the Dark Arts** \- Taught by Professor Christopher Lee, a retired auror for the American Ministry, Professor Lee often holds class all over the campus and tests his students through Friday duels, rather than written tests. At the end of every semester Professor Lee holds a school wide competition for prizes including everything from extra credit to gift cards for the shops in Ora Village.

 **Herbology** \- Taught by Professor Alexander Rockey, one of Sempiternal's finest, herbology is one of the toughest courses to pass. Cruel, harsh, and sometimes unreasonable Professor Rockey strongly believes in preparing his students for "the real world" and has little to no tolerance for ignorance. Professor Rockey was a major part of the modern magic movement and as a muggleborn, is one of the few teachers with a rather unconventional modern magic background.

 **History of Magic** \- Taught by Professor Matt Raymond of the Quiver Institute of Magic, Professor Raymond is well-versed in magical and modern history and is one of the few teachers who teaches both a magical and modern class. Professor Raymond is rather awkward at times, but a good teacher none the less.

 **Potions** \- Professor Lennox Tillmen, fellow founder of Sempiternal is best known for her work with potions. With a healer background and time working in the American ministry, Professor Tillmen never intended on working as a teacher, but after founding Sempiternal, she discovered her true passion for spreading knowledge and enjoys learning just as much as teaching.

 **Transfiguration** \- Since the opening of Sempiternal, transfiguration has been taught by Professor Meena Kapoor. Professor Kapoor is originally from India, but is very well traveled and one of the most celebrated teachers within Sempiternal. Exciting and very intelligent, Professor Kapoor works very closely with her students to give them a very hands on experience. This is Professor Kapoor's last year teaching before retiring.

 **Alchemy** \- As old as the country itself, Professor John Burr is one of the handful of ghosts that roam the halls of Sempiternal. A fallen hero of the Revolutionary War, Professor Burr is a talkative, but old fashioned teacher. Although dead, Professor Burr is just as active as the rest of the staff and a great addition to school with a wide and advanced knowledge of alchemy.

 **Apparition** \- Taught by Professor Katelyn Henstridge, who also teaches math, apparation is another one of the classes taught on Sempiternal's beachfront. Professor Henstridge is a middle-aged woman with a patient attitude, perfect for teaching such a difficult class.

 **Arithmancy** \- Taught by Professor Andrew Wang, a brilliant teacher, arithmancy is a difficult class, not for the faint of heart. Professor Wang's class is very difficult to get accepted into and requires an A or above in math and a teacher's recommendation.

 **Care of Magical Creatures** \- Taught by Tyler Daniels, one of Sempiternal's finest alumni, Professor Daniels was part of Sempiternal's third graduating class. After spending 2 years in Romania teaching a course on animalistic magic, Professor Daniels returned to Sempiternal to teach Care of Magical Creatures.

 **Divination** \- Besides teaching divination, Professor Giselle Reene is also in charge of sorting all the students. With a long history of seers within her family and many years of accurate prophecies, Professor Reene is no fluke. Professor Reene has spot on instincts and a strong sense of awareness.

 **Study of Ancient Runes** \- Taught by Professor Marlene Witherspoon, another one of Sempiternal's ghost, ancient runes is a very difficult course for many. Killed during the Salem Witch Trials, Professor Witherspoon never has shied away from her past and is a rather talkative ghost.

 **Sempiternal's modern curriculum includes:**

 **Math** \- Taught by Professor Katelyn Henstridge, who also teaches apparation, Professor Henstridge's patient attitude is perfect for teaching math. She is a very organized teacher and is always up to date on all Sempiternal affairs.

 **Science** \- Taught by Professor Adeline Ishani, science has always been a vital part of Sempiternal's modern curriculum. Professor Ishani is very quick-witted and her classes are very competitive. All students in Professor Ishani's class a subjected to what the students have dubbed 'the modern magic fair' which involves each student coming up with a project which combines science and any other magical subject in a school-wide competition.

 **Technology** \- Taught by founder Glade Fraiser, technology is one of the most important classes at Sempiternal. Always calm and collected Professor Fraiser has a high amount of respect for his students and his subject.

 **English and English Literature** \- Taught by Neil Zackary, a squib who has made a name for himself as a muggle writer, English and English Lit are vital to all those pursuing modern magic. Professor Zackary is also head of the creative writing and the coordinater of all things Quidditch.

 **Foreign Languages** \- (Spanish, French, Latin)- Taught by Professor Isabella Cortez, Professor Odette Baudin, and founder Tripp Bender, respectively, Sempiternal has long believed that their students should be more cultured. All students required to take one foreign language, and if they choose, they may learn all three.

 **History of the Muggle World-** Taught by Professor Matt Raymond of the Quiver Institute of Magic, Professor Raymond is well-versed in magical and modern history and is one of the few teachers who teaches both a magical and modern class. Professor Raymond is rather awkward at times, but a good teacher none the less.

 **Extracurriculars-**

 **Quidditch** \- Coordinated by Neil Zakary, Quidditch is by far the most popular extracirricular at Sempiternal. Every year, all four houses compete for the glory of the Sempiternal Quidditch cup, as well as 200 house points.

 **Modern and Magical Art** \- Taught by Annabelle Mack, those who choose to take this extracurricular are subjected to photography, music, dance, painting and drawing, acting, and technical theater.

 **Dance** \- Taught by Missy Ryder, Raleigh Ryder's younger sister, dance is a required to be taken by all students for at least one year. This class explores all forms of dance including jazz, ballet, lyrical, modern, ballroom, and ethnic.

 **Modern and Magical Home Ec.** \- Taught by Edison King, the charming half-veela with a knack for cooking and sewing, modern and magical home ec. explores all skills necessary for students after graduation. Although not a mandatory class, modern and magical home ec. is highly recommended.

 **Creative Writing** \- Also taught by Neil Zakary, creative writing is a fun club which is also in charge of the school newspaper and yearbook.

 **Study Hall** \- Study hall is essentially a free period for all student to catch up on homework, eat food, and get some much needed sleep. Students with study hall in their schedules are allowed to be anywhere on campus, including the beach.

 **Grading Scale-**

 **-Passing-**

A- 90-100%

B- 80-89%

C- 70-79%

 **-Failing-**

D- 60-69%

F- 0-59%

* * *

 **Author's Note:** First off, thank you to all that submitted, I had over 40 entries and your interest in my story means so much to me. Even if your character wasn't accepted, I really appreciated everyone who submitted, and I cannot thank you enough! So just a quick side note, almost everyone who submitted, sent me a quidditch players and so for any houses with repeat players or captains, I will be contacting you soon so you can pick another position for your OC. So another quick side note, I was planning on doing a blog for this story, but I'm afraid I'm not all too good with that kind of stuff so if anyone is interested in helping me out, feel free to shoot me a PM. The next update should be in 1-2 weeks and I really hope you all continue to review and stay with the story! So without further ado, here's your list of characters.

\- Cass

 **House Raleigh**

 **Girls:**

1\. Freya Bender, Year 7, submitted by butterflygirly99

2\. Amelia Scott, Year 6, submitted by falloutrose

3\. Andrea Argon, Year 5, submitted by iristmr

 **Guys:**

4\. Christopher Tepes, Year 6, submitted by Nefertam

5\. Thomas Lockser, Year 6, submitted by Maebird

 **House Lennox**

 **Girls:**

1\. Colette Pace, Year 6, submitted by Kassidy10

2\. Caterina Corleone, Year 6, submitted by TheNightGirl

 **Guys:**

3\. Pedri Collin, Year 6, submitted by TheStuffIlike

4\. Dalton Fisher, Year 6, submitted by HackedByAWriter

5\. Asher Jacob Graham, Year 5, submitted by Wolvesareawesome13

 **House Glade**

 **Girls:**

1\. Viola French, Year 7, submitted by DCdreamer55

2\. Emmanuelle Anastasia Knox, Year 6, submitted by BellaRosa17

 **Guys:**

3\. William Adams, Year 7, submitted by HaLeY bEtH

 **House Tripp**

 **Girls:**

1\. Anastasia Dmitriyev, Year 6, submitted by Kassidy10

2\. Alyannie Crowther, Year 5, submitted by KorianneAnders

 **Guys:**

3\. Shelby Rickard, Year 5, submitted by XxbooberryxX

4\. Jaime Leone, Year 6, submitted by Vulkodlak

5\. Sam Ryu Won, Year 5, submitted by literalshark


	3. Polaroid

_I'm a reckless mistake,_ _I'm a cold night's intake_  
 _I'm a one night too long,_ _I'm a come on too strong_

 _All my life I've been living in the fast lane,  
_ _Can't slow down,_ _I'm a rollin' freight train,  
_ _One more time,_ _Gotta start all over  
_ _Can't slow down,_ _I'm a lone red rover_

 _\- Imagine Dragons, Polaroid_

* * *

 **Colette Pace, House Lennox, Year 6**

Colette took a deep breath, filling her lungs with the fresh ocean air. A gentle breeze traveled through the otherwise warm air as she wandered in the direction of the main dock. He older brothers had dropped her off at that very same dock nearly an hour earlier, as per her parent's instructions, however, Colette couldn't help but wander around the empty beach. The stunning blue water paired with the rocky cliffs just screamed adventure and Colette had to use all her willpower to head towards the dock.

She wore her new Sempiternal blazer with her orange and white Lennox badge pinned to her chest proudly. House Lennox's scorpion gleamed in the sun and it was nearly impossible to miss against the black background of her blazer.

"You're late, _again_."

Colette let out a heavy sigh, "Freya _Anya_ Bender, arriving at the dock 15 minutes before the boat arrives does not count as being late."

The older brunette pointed a perfectly manicured finger towards the Pacific Ocean. A small moving object could be made out in the distance. As it quickly approached, it grew larger and larger until it was clearly recognizable at the Sempiternal cruise liner, "I think you and I have different ideas of what 15 minutes early is."

"Fine, fine," Colette responded, rolling her eyes. Despite her initial annoyance, the Lennox girl couldn't help but hug her friend tightly, "I'm a little late. Anyways, how was your summer? I've missed you like crazy!"

Freya chuckled, "My dad put me on 'new teacher duty'. Acel Jean-Luc, who graduated last year is teaching astronomy, so my dad put me in charge of helping him out."

"So, let me get this straight..." Colette began, "you spent your entire summer vacation at school?"

"Well, all the founders spend the summer at school and I wanted to spend sometime with my dad," Freya explained, "Ever since my the divorce he's been spending all his time at school, so I only see him during Latin, which isn't exactly the best time for father-daughter bonding. Besides, helping out Acel- I mean Professor Jean-Luc, wasn't that bad. So what about you? Any summertime adventures I'm not aware of?"

"I went on a few impromptu adventures," Colette began, "But I rather not get into detail about them. Put it this way: I may or may not be banned from entering Canada..."

"I wonder how we're best friends sometimes..." Freya responded with a slight chuckle.

"Well I'm afraid, you'll have to thank Professor Lee for that. After all, we _did_ meet through the Dream Team," Colette replied, "Speaking of which, where are Manny and Aly? We can't be the Dream Team without half our members."

Two years ago the rules for Professor Lee's end of year competition included that all teams participating must be comprised of students from each house. Colette, herself, of House Lennox, had held "auditions" for her team and eventually the so-called Dream Team was born into existence. Comprised of Freya Bender of House Raleigh, Emmanuelle "Manny" Knox of House Glade, Alyannie "Aly" Crowther of House Tripp, and of course, Colette herself, the Dream Team had become an unstoppable force winning every single one of Professor Lee's competitions since.

The four girls were the epitome of teamwork and outer-house connection; not only did they work well together during competitions, the four girls had formed a tight bond and were all very close friends, despite their age differences and respective houses.

"I believe I saw Manny saying goodbye to her parents a while ago and my mother dropped Aly off a little while ago, things are getting really bad with her dad again," Freya informed, wincing in sympathy.

"Poor thing, I offered her to stay with me this summer, but she insisted on going back. She really wants to make it on her own," Colette responded, shaking her head, "I just wish she realized she doesn't have to face this herself."

"Yeah, in fact I'm pretty sure she's not even telling us the full story about her home life. I don't want to push her, but I'm really worried," the seventh year replied, frowning.

"Me too," Colette agreed, looking off into the distance, "We _will_ stick together through anything."

Colette was nothing short of a major party girl, but if anything, she was also a fiercely loyal and protective friend. As often as she relied on her friends to help her out with a hangover or bail her out of a sticky situation, at the end of the day, Colette was dependable. Judgement-free, Colette would do anything to help and protect those she cared for.

For better or for worse, Colette was ready for whatever the new school year would throw at her. After all, adventurers were always ready for _anything_.

* * *

 **Christopher Tepes, House Raleigh, Year 6**

"See ya later, dork!"

Chris sent a rather awkward wave to his twin brother as he disappeared into the group of Sempiternal students filing into the large building. The cruise liner had just docked at Sempiternal's beach front and it didn't cease to impress Chris how fast the massive ship could unload. The trip itself had been pleasant, free of any troubled waters, however, it had been rather lonely.

Ever since his run in with a werewolf two years ago, Chris struggled to reconnect with society. Much to his delight, Chris was able to confide in Professor Tillmen about his predicament and she was able to provide him with a potion to help with werewolf symptoms.

Despite being changed into a werewolf, it wasn't that Christopher didn't have _any_ friends, he simply wasn't all too much of a social creature. In terms of the friends Chris did have, he seemed not to veer far out of his house, as most of his friends were from House Raleigh, most of them friends from Quidditch.

"Hey Chris!" a voice yelled out from behind him. A very slim, yet muscular boy came running up to him with a wide grin, "I've been looking for you everywhere! I come with a message."

"Really?" Chris asked a little surprised, "What is it?"

"It's about Quidditch. Freya wants the whole team to show up to auditions this weekend. Amelia and Andrea need a new chaser and I need a new beater," Thomas explained, excitedly. Talking about Quidditch always excited Chris's fellow 6th year and it put the both of them in a competitive spirit. Thomas was a beater for House Raleigh as well as one of Chris's few friends. After all, being in the same year and house with similar interests and personalities, the two were bound to become friends at some point.

As a keeper, Chris was used to playing defense, and preferred it. Unlike some of the other members of the team, like Thomas, who liked to move a around and play a handful of positions, Chris always knew keeper was the only position for him.

"I'll be there," Chris responded, with a slight nod, "It's sad that we lost 3 of our best Quidditch players last year. In fact, I heard Jenson is going professional."

"Yeah, I believe he's currently playing for the Louisiana Lions," Thomas agreed, "I hope Freya's just as good a captain. I mean I know she's a good seeker, I just hope she's a good captain as well."

"I think she'll be okay," Chris began, "I mean for starters she's the only 7th year on our team and age does mean experience, right?"

"I suppose you're right, as usual. I'm really hoping we'll be able to recruit at least one more 7th year, this year. We can use all the experience we can get," Thomas reasoned, "The other houses have pretty good rosters this year."

Chris had to agree with Thomas as his evaluation of the teams was correct. The current year had some very strong players in the mix. House Lennox had Caterina Corleone as their seeker, Pedri Collins and Asher Graham as chasers, and Dalton Fischer as one of their beaters, as well as captain. They were still looking for a new keeper, one chaser, and one beater.

House Glade had Viola French as a chaser and captain, as well as Emmanuelle "Manny" Knox as their seeker, and Caleb Meyers as keeper. A significant amount of their house's Qudditch team had been 7th years and now they only had three members left. Although having so many 7th years last year enabled them to win Sempiternal's Quidditch cup last year, they weren't looking like the strongest team at the current moment. House Raleigh and House Glade had always had a bit of a rivalry as the best two houses for Quidditch, last year.

House Tripp had Alyannie "Aly" Crowther as their seeker, Kathryn Spence, Jason Li, and RJ Tillmen as chasers, Terran Allen as keeper and captain. House Tripp still needed two beaters, but was currently the most intact team.

"I hear our first game is House Tripp," Chris replied, "They have a pretty complete team, so I'm a bit nervous."

"I'm freaking out as well. I sometimes wish we didn't get so wrapped up in all this stuff," Thomas added as he and his teammate proceeded into Sempiternal's dining hall.

Chris shrugged before he replied, "Isn't that what we do?"

The boys paused for a brief moment before breaking out into slight, awkward laughter. Despite the laughter, Chris couldn't help but wonder if the stress was really worth it. For that matter, was the stress ever worth it?

* * *

 **Jaime Leone, House Tripp, Year 6**

Jamie couldn't help but sigh as he sat down at House Tripp's table by himself. For whatever reason he briefly believed that 6th year would be different that his previous years at Sempiternal, but from the moment he sat down by himself, he knew it was going to be a another lonely year.

Jamie knew from the time he was sorted in to House Tripp he was going to be part of the "unpopular crowd". Despite the lack of confidence in himself, Jamie was very hardworking and often wondered if he belonged in House Raleigh.

As his mind drifted away from the rather depressing thoughts, he found himself focusing on Professor Bender's speech. Every year after sorting, all four of the founders gave their speeches about the goals and thoughts about the upcoming year. Jamie had always enjoyed his house founder's speeches and had a high amount of respect for the professor.

"-and so with my pleasure, I'd like to introduce you all to Professor Acel Jean-Luc. As many of you know Professor Jean-Luc was in House Tripp last year, but despite his age I do hope you will treat him with the same amount of respect as any other Professor."

Peering up from his square-rimmed glasses, Jamie quickly spotted the young professor who stood up and waved. Jamie was quickly able to recognize his former housemate but was very surprised that somebody he new as a fellow student would be the new astronomy teacher. It wasn't odd for Sempiternal to hire previous student, nor was it odd for them to hire someone so young, however it was still slightly off putting.

Over at the Glade table he heard a few girls fawning over him, "Finally, a hot professor. I think I'll actually pay attention in astronomy."

In Jamie's mind Acel was handsome enough, but he found the girls to be a bit vapid and rather silly, yet he still would rather be friends with them, then continue to be lonely. The fear of loneliness was a weakness Jamie possessed, however, Jamie had found ways to cope, not to say he wouldn't be glad for some friends. As he found his mind wandering he quickly shook his head, focusing on Tripp's speech with far more intent that he had before.

"-In terms goals for this year, I have three. Number one: I would like my house to win the Quidditch cup this year. Number two, I would like to see more people in my advanced Latin class. And finally, number three, I want each and everyone of you to find something that makes you happy and I want you all to make happiness an important part of your life. Thank you and I wish you all a very successful year."

With that, the entire dining hall erupted into a loud applause for Tripp's speech. As usual, it was his favorite out of all four founders' speeches and he really focused on Professor Bender's last goal: find something that makes you happy.

Jamie thought for a brief moment. Friends would make him happy, in fact he could easily find himself making friends an important part of his life. He looked over to the popular side of House Tripp's table. He may not have been one of them but Jamie couldn't help but resolve that this would be the year he would make at least _one_ friend. One was enough for Jamie and at this point, he was desperate for anything.

"Hey! Jamie Loser!" one girl called out from the popular side of the table. It was the tall blonde, Anastasia Dmitriyev, if he wasn't mistaken.

"It's Jamie Leone," he replied back, shocked he was able to respond.

The girl gave him a sweet, yet somehow devious smile, "Oh, my bad, come over here, my friends and I want to chat with you."

Awkwardly and nervously Jamie scooted his way down the glossy wooden bench to face Anastasia, who was sitting on the other side.

"So here's the deal, now that Mac moved and doesn't go to Sempiternal anymore, my friends and I decided we need a new project," Anastasia explained, flashing a charming smile.

"Project?" Jamie echoed, extremely confused.

"Yeah, we take people like _you_ and...fix them up," Anastasia replied with a wink.

Jamie looked around nervously and couldn't find the words to respond.

"Oh come on, Jamie," Anastasia pleaded, "It'll be fun!"

Jamie bit his lip slightly, "I don't know if that's the best idea, Anastasia..."

"Of course it's a good idea. We're here to help and be your friends," she offered, laying on thick charm, "And please, call me Ana."

Jamie was very wary of her offer, but something she said struck him... _friends_...she offered him friendship. The moment he had been waiting for had just fallen into his lap and Jamie refused to miss the opportunity.

"Okay, _Ana_..." Jamie replied, "I'll do it."

"Perfect, just perfect. This year is going to be fun."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Hooray! I finished the first chapter. So two things: first off I'm so sorry about the delay of posting this chapter, but for those of you who don't know I was in Spain for the past week and a half. I know I promised this chapter would be up by Wednesday, but the flight I was on was cancelled so I was stuck at the airport for 10 hours and couldn't post until now and for that I'm so terribly sorry. Secondly, now that I'm back from my trip, I'm hoping to do weekly updates (on Sundays, maybe?) I'm not 100% sure, but we'll see. So thanks for all the support so far and I hope this chapter was up to your expectations. Any reviews would be very much loved!

\- Cass

P.S. This chapter is unbeta'd and if anyone is interested or knows a beta, please feel free to let me know. I've been looking for one for a while, but nobody seems to be interested in betaing for a SYOC :(


	4. Alien

_There was a time I was one of a kind_  
 _Lost in the world out of me myself and I_  
 _Was lonely then like an alien_  
 _I tried but I never figured it out_  
 _Why I always felt like a stranger in a crowd_  
 _Oh that was then like an alien_

 _\- Britney Spears, Alien_

* * *

 **Alyannie "Aly" Crowther, Year 5, House Tripp**

Summer had been awful.

Aly shuddered as the memories of her summer rushed back. Her father had been acting in this manner for quite a while now, in fact Aly could pinpoint the exact time he changed. Despite the fear and sadness that consumed her the moment she thought of home, she pushed the thoughts out of her head and headed to the other side of the castle for her first History of Magic class of the year.

Aly had always had mixed feelings about History of Magic. While she found the study of the magic fascinating and loved the location of the classroom, the class was difficult for her. All the essays and memorization required for the class never came naturally to Aly and she found herself struggling to keep up with the class, last year. She sincerely hoped the curriculum would be better and the 6th year History of Magic would be easier than 5th year History of Magic.

As she made her way to class, she quickly spotted two of her closest friends- Colette and Manny. She quickly ran over to the pair who where standing under a rather small palm tree. Palm trees were located all of Sempiternal, including inside the halls. The added a bit of flair and fauna to the campus and offered great meeting places for the students.

"ALY!" squealed Colette, pulling Aly into am incredibly tight and protective hug, "How have you been? Are you okay? Freya told me everything."

Aly sighed, "I'm okay. I really am."

"Are you sure?" Manny chimed in as she helped pry Colette off the smaller girl.

Aly simply nodded quietly, "I'm at school now, so I'm good. I promise."

"Good, because nobody...and I mean _nobody_ messes with the Dream Team," Colette responded very fiercely.

Both Manny and Aly couldn't help but chuckle lightly. Although Aly was close to Colette and Freya, she had always found herself closer to Manny. Perhaps it was because she had known Manny since 3rd year, but within the last year the two girls had really gained a close friendship. During 5th year, Manny and Aly came out together as bisexual and the experience really bonded them.

"Hey guys, I think we should go take our seats," Aly replied as she noticed the chairs in the classroom filling up quickly.

Manny nodded, "Good idea, it seems like every single 6th year was here."

The three quickly took seats somewhere in the middle of the large lecture room. It was a compromise within the Dream Team as Freya and Manny loved to sit front and center, whereas Aly and Colette preferred to sit as far back as possible. Their ability to compromise made the Dream Team such a successful group and often prevented unnecessary conflict.

Since Sempiternal had opened, History of Magic had taken place in the lecture room, and this year was no different. A decent number of chairs were set up on the warm, wooden floors under the magical, floating, and quite frankly, extremely colorful umbrellas. The umbrellas were charmed to shade the students from the warm sun as the lecture hall was completely surrounded by glass windows, and the sun often caused horrible glares.

"Man, I wish Freya was here," Colette said in a rather loud and carrying whisper, as the class began to quiet down, "Then we'd have the full Dream Team here!"

"Me too," Manny replied. The three 6th years all looked up to Freya, the only 7th year of the group and often complained that she couldn't be in 6th year classes with them.

"Me three," Aly added, with a shy laugh.

The class was soon completely silent and all that could be heard was the soft mumbles of Professor Raymond, himself.

"Hello and welcome to History of Magic 6," Professor Raymond began, "As you all are aware History of Magic is not an easy subject, however, if you pay attention in class and put in the work I know you all will be successful. So with that, I'd like to begin class. Could everybody turn to page 7 in your textbooks...and why don't you, Miss Scott, start us off..."

Professor Raymond pointed to a girl in the front row, with frizzy red hair, who Aly recognized as Amelia Scott. Aly didn't know too much about Amelia, other than the fact that she was a typical Raleigh over-achiever. As Amelia began reading the introduction to the textbook, Aly found herself struggling to pay attention.

"Pst! Aly!"

Aly's head whipped around as she came face to face with one of her housemates, Jaime Leone.

"What?" Aly asked in a soft whisper, unsure whether to be annoyed or angry.

"Terran wants you guys to meet this evening for an extra Quidditch practice before the first game of the season," Jamie explained as he pointed to Terran who was sitting a couple seats behind him.

Aly nodded, "Okay, tell him I'll be there..."

Turning back around Aly had to suppress the smile growing on her face. Summer was awful, there was no changing that, but falling back into the routine of school simply brought her incomparable happiness. Between spending time with her friends, playing quidditch, and being away from her father, Sempiternal was her real home and nothing could change that.

* * *

 **Andrea ''Andy'' Argon, Year 5, House Raleigh**

"Hey guys! Sorry I'm late!" Andrea called as she ran toward to Quidditch field, "I kinda got caught up with studying."

"It's fine, Andy. You only missed two beater and four chaser tryouts," Amelia Scott, her fellow chaser replied, as she slid over in the stands to make room for Andy, "And nobody has been very good..."

Andy nodded, "But I'm still really sorry."

"It's fine," Freya replied, with the wave of her hand, "We're just glad you could make it."

The rest of the team nodded in agreement as Thomas Lockser ushered the next student in. Thomas was one of the team's beaters and despite not being the team's captain, he along with House Raleigh's keeper, Chris Tepes, seemed to be Freya's second-in-commands.

"Hi, I'm Joshua Carter, I'm a 7th year and I'm trying out for chaser," the boy announced as he mounted his broom.

"Hey Josh, thanks for trying out, I really owe you one," Freya replied as she flashed him one of her signature, bright smiles, "Chris, you're up! Josh, you have 5 tries to score on Chris. If you make 3 out of 5 goals and Amelia and Andy are pleased with your performance, you're in."

"Fantastic!" he replied as both he and Chris got into their "ready" positions. Andy knew Josh all too well. In terms of being a Raleigh student, Josh had all three aspects covered. His natural charm and good looks made him instantly popular, while his good grades and talent with muggle sports fulfilled the academic and athletic parts of the house.

Andy wasn't much of an all-rounder like Josh or a handful of other Raleighs were. She had always been more academically inclined and sometimes not being such an all-rounder made her feel like an outsider to the rest of the house. Andy had always struggled socially and had never been "the popular girl" and despite her love for competition, it wasn't easy to always be in such a competitive environment.

As she looked towards the field, she watched Josh take his 5 shots. He was able to make 4 out of his 5 shots and the whole team clapped for him as he dismounted his broom in front of them. He gave the team an earnest smile after high-fiving Chris, the team's keeper.

"Thank you so much for trying out," Freya began, with a smile, "You're the last chaser audition of the day, so we'll probably get back to you by tonight."

"Thank _you_ for encouraging me to try out. See you all later!" Josh replied, as he headed out of the stadium.

"So what do you to think?" Freya asked. For the other three houses, the captains were typically the ones in charge of making all the decisions, but the House Raleigh liked to take a more "democratic" approach by letting the whole team make decisions, mostly to avoid arguments. Andy, herself, specifically liked this as she had always been one to want her voice to be heard.

"I like him," Amelia replied, speaking up first, "He was certainly the best person we've seen all day."

Andy nodded, unsure how what to add, as she had been nearly an hour late. Andy typically wasn't the type of girl to be late, but when she was in the mood to study, it was difficult to jar her out of it.

Chris nodded in agreement, "I think he would work well with the team. Plus he's got some killer throws. I've heard he played muggle sports growing up."

"He played football," Amelia clarified.

"Football?" Andy asked. She had vaguely heard of the sport, but growing up in a pureblood family, she had a shortage of knowledge on muggle sports.

"It's kind of confusing, I'll explain it to you later," Amelia replied, with a slight laugh.

"So, shall I put Josh down as our third chaser?" Freya asked, "All in favor, raise you hands."

Andy looked around as she raised her hand, the whole team seemed to unanimously agree that Josh would be the new chaser. It was quite rare for a whole team of independent, strong-minded people to agree on one thing, however, when it came to Quidditch, House Raleigh was always able to come together. Perhaps that was why Andy had always felt such a strong connection to the house. Despite all the competitiveness, the stress, and even the arguing, at the end of the day House Raleigh would always make it work.

* * *

 **Pedri Collin, Year 6, House Lennox**

"So who are you rooting for?"

"I don't really care," Pedri replied to his younger brother, Byron, who sat next to him in the Quidditch stadium, "House Lennox isn't playing, so it doesn't really matter..."

"I'm not really sure who I'm rooting for," Byron replied, "I think Tripp and Raleigh are pretty evenly matched, what do you think?"

Pedri nodded, unaware of his brother's words, as he pulled out a small handful of extra electronic parts and compiled them in his lap. It wasn't that he didn't enjoy Quidditch...in fact he played for House Lennox, but he enjoyed technology and tinkering around with spare parts. It kept him occupied and interested.

"Welcome, welcome, welcome!" Professor Neil Zakary called out, into his microphone, "Thank you all for comming out to watch the first Quidditch game of the season between House Tripp and House Raleigh."

"Hey! Pedri! Up here!"

Pedri peeked behind him and noticed House Lennox's Quidditch team, all sitting together.

"Hey, come sit with us!" Dalton, their captain, invited.

Pedri sighed, turning back around, deciding not to even bother replying. In his mind, he saw the gesture as empty...as fake. He tended to over-analyze situations and for all he knew the gesture could have been genuine, but he preferred not to take the chance.

Crossing his arms, then uncrossing them so he could continue to tinker with the spare parts, he looked over at his brother, who had adopted the same stony expression he wore. Running his hand through his brown-rooted, red hair he released another sigh, silently wishing his brother wouldn't tumble down the same hole he had.

"Ladies and gentleman, may I first introduce the new team Raleigh!" Professor Zakary announced as the team came zipping out on their brooms, "We have seeker and captain: Freya Bender. Keeper: Chris Tepes, Beaters: Thomas Lockser and Emma Parrish, and Chasers: Amelia Scott, Andy Argon, and Josh Carter!"

The crowd, namely the Raleigh side of the stadium, erupted in a loud cheer. The crowd became so loud, a few of the Lennox first years in front of him looked mildly frightened.

"Next up, team Tripp!" Profressor Zakary continued, "We have keeper and captain: Terran Allen. Seeker: Aly Crowther, Beaters: Jessica Yee and Arnold David, and Chasers: Kathryn Spence, Jason Li, and RJ Tillmen!"

After a few moments of quieter cheering, the crowd erupted into another round of wild cheering and poster waving before quieting down again, as Professor Zakary signalled the beginning of the game, "One...Two...Three...GO!"

"And it's Spence with the Quaffle, but Lockser gets a solid hit on a bludger, right in her direction!"

Pedri looked up from his tinkering, where high levels of action were taking place down below. The pitch was a blur of blue and silver along with purple and bronze. Emma Parrish had taken a hard hit to the shoulder, and nearly fell of her broom. Both Chris Tepes and Terran Allen had blocked a significant number of shots and the snitch was still in play.

Pedri quickly turned his attention to the two seekers who swirled around each other with masterful speed. At the moment, it looked as if Aly Crowther was gaining a bit of a lead on Freya Bender. Out of no where, Jessica Yee hit a bludger in Freya's direction, who swerved out of the way just in time. The bludger continued moving forward, hitting Aly in the back, enabling Freya to take the lead.

Looking at the main scoreboard, he noticed that House Tripp had scored, however, Andy and Amelia were passing the quaffle between in them and were nearing the scoring area. Andy gave a strong throw in the direction of the hoops and the quaffle flew straight threw. As a chaser, Pedri was able to appreciate the how clean the shot was and the good teamwork between the two chasers.

As the game continued, everyone's eyes became draw to the seekers and they continued to fight for the snitch. The two seekers had become blurs and it was nearly impossible to see who was in the lead, until the blue and silver blur melded with the gold blur and the Raleigh section of the crowd broke out into a deafening roar. Raleigh had won the game 190-70.

As the game came to a close and the crowd, slowly filed out, Pedri found himself alone in the empty stadium, even his brother had left. Was this really what he wanted? Was loneliness his only fate? Only time would tell.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** So another chapter done! I hope you enjoyed! Now updates will be on a weekly schedule. I started working on the website and it's coming along really well, so thank you to everybody who gave me advice! Also, since I'm still flying solo, this chapter is unbeta'd so please forgive any mistakes. I love your reviews and hope you continue to review.

Lots of love to you guys,

Cass


	5. Novocaine

_I'm just a problem that doesn't want to be solved  
_ _So could you please hold your applause  
_ _Take this sideshow and all its freaks  
_ _And turn it into the silver screen dream_

\- Fall Out Boy, Novocaine

* * *

 **Viola French, Year 7, House Glade**

Viola's head pounded as she climbed up the stationary stairs towards technology, her least favorite class. Although technology was taught by her house founder, Glade Fraiser, she had never enjoyed all the tiny details it encompassed. Headaches weren't rare for Viola, as she often lacked sleep and the constant nightmares she faced didn't help.

As she quietly entered the small classroom, she headed straight for the back. The technology class was completely plastered with posters, both magical and muggle. Professor Fraiser looked calm and collected as usual as the classed waited for class to begin. Professor Fraiser always treated his students with respect and in return, all the students were always extremely well-behaved in his class.

As Viola took out her homework, she looked around, the class was rather small as most 7th years opted not to take technology in favor of taking an extra curricular. Despite her dislike of the subject, Viola was very aware she would need 7th year technology if she ever was to gain a job in the muggle world. Viola was still unsure if she wanted to continue her education magically or attend muggle college, but Sempiternal's unique set up allowed students to choose their paths.

"Okay students, it's just about time to get started!" Professor Fraiser announced, signalling the beginning of class, "Everyone pass up your essays and take out your wands and tablets, please."

After handing her essay to the girl in front of her, Viola took out her wand and tablet, making sure she had her desk completely organized before she proceeded.

"Ahh, I'm looking forward to reading these," Professor Fraiser commented as he flipped through the essays, "Interesting choice Miss French, I had no idea you were interested in the evolution of the telephone."

Viola instantly felt everyone's eyes on her. She hated the attention and couldn't help but offer her most viscous glare to her fellow 7th years. Viola hadn't always been so guarded and closed-off but after her father's hatred turned to her, she did what she had to do to protect herself. Many years ago, when Viola was struggling to understand what her magic was, her brother was teasing her and she got angry, causing Viola to accidentally start a fire. As she panicked, the fire became more and more uncontrollable, engulfing the whole house, and killing Vi's brother and mother. Her father's anger had quickly turned to Viola and she quickly became reserved, angry, and depressed.

"Okay, so I would like to start today's lesson by having everybody get into partners, I don't care with who, but just make sure it's someone you can work well with," Professor Fraiser explained as he silently flicked his wand in the direct of a stack of worksheets causing them instantly float towards each student.

Viola sighed as she looked around, she hated group work. Normally, she would immediately turn to her housemate and close friend, William Adams. Viola had known William for years and the pair got along quiet well. Will was a hard workers and not all too talkative, something Viola was very comfortable with.

Viola had never done well with people who were extremely talkative. In fact in was no doubt her last relationship didn't work out. The girl she was dating was far from quiet and although many say opposites attract, Viola couldn't disagree more. She preferred girls who were smart, independent, and understanding.

"Hey Vi, partners?" Will asked as he walked up to her table, with two textbooks. Viola simply nodded and slid over a few of her things to make room for the extra textbook.

"Okay students, today we're going to learn how to cast a coding spell. Now this a rather advanced topic so I want you all to pay careful attention. As you all know, all webpages are comprised of basic codes so today we're going to learn how to combine magic and coding to create a basic webpage."

As Professor Fraiser went into further details of the spell Viola tried her best to stay focused. The spell was rather difficult and complex and Viola found herself wishing she was on the Quidditch field or in art.

Soon the whole class began practicing the spell on their phones. Will got the spell quite quickly and was able to create a working code in just a few tries. Will was a natural with charms and spells and Viola had always envied that ability.

As class droned on, almost every single student besides Viola had been able to cast the spell correctly. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Professor Fraiser quickly approaching for evaluation and she felt her heart beat quicken.

"Relax Vi, you got this," William whispered as Professor Fraiser arrived at their table.

"So which one of you would like to demonstrate first?" Professor Fraiser asked, as he looked at them with an easy smile.

"I can," Will replied. He pulled out his wand and waved it in the direction of his phone, reading each part of the spell carefully and consistently. To no one's surprise, Will successfully cast the spell and Professor Fraiser seemed impressed.

"Okay Miss French, your turn."

After silently reading through the spell one final time, Viola closed her eyes and took a deep breath before waving her wand and reciting the spell out loud. With one final whip, she looked down and let out a sigh of relief.

"Well done you two, keep up the good work!" Professor Fraiser replied, seeming very pleased, "On your way out, can I have one of you pass back the notebooks?"

Viola looked around and noticed one of her classmates, Freya, begin to pass back everybody's notebooks. As her classmate handed back her notebook, Viola noticed a strange black ribbon sticking out from the tip of the notebook.

"Oh! Vi I think someone's ribbon got stuck in your notebook, I'll go see if it belongs to anybody," Freya said with a bright smile as she pulled the black ribbon out of the book. As soon as Freya touched the ribbon, the smile fell from her face.

And without warning, she crumbled to the floor.

* * *

 **Asher Jacob Graham, Year 5, House Lennox**

"What did you get for number nine?"

"I said that 7 represents a horse, but I'm not sure..." Andrea replied, looking down at the graph paper sprawled across the dining table.

"I hate Arithmancy," Asher whined as he hit his head in frustration before changing gears, "Why don't we ditch the Arithmancy and go hang out at the quidditch pitch? Come on, we both know you rather do that."

Andrea sighed, "Really, Asher? We have to get our homework done at some point...might as well do it now."

"You Raleighs are no fun," Asher responded, mumbling a few things under his breath.

"Raleighs are the best at everything, including having fun," Andy replied, with an extremely serious expression.

Asher rolled his eyes, "Well, you guys have a funny way of showing it."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Andy asked, feigning offense at his comment.

"For starters, you seem to avoid social events like the plague."

Andrea and Asher hadn't know each other for long, but after getting to know each other, Andy and Asher had become quite close. Amazingly, despite all their differences, they began to realize they both had a lot in common. Andrea liked to challenge Asher academically and Asher push Andrea out of her comfort zone. The two friends worked really well together and despite constantly arguing, at the end of the day they both really cared about one another.

"Just in case you haven't noticed, some Raleigh students are only in Raleigh for their strong social skills," Andy countered.

"Well in that case, how many of you are aware of the back-to-school dance?"

"What back-to-school dance?" Andy asked, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"The one Anastasia Dmitriyev just posted about on her blog," Asher replied, pulling out his phone to show her.

Andy glared at him, before her face softened, "Huh, I guess your right."

Asher simply grinned with an extremely smug smile stitched on his face, "I rest my case."

"Fine, fine, maybe _I_ didn't know about it," Andy replied, "but I'm sure at least Amelia, Chris, Thomas, or Freya knew about it."

"Fine when we're at the dance we'll see how many of them actually show up," Asher replied.

Andy shrugged, "I don't know if I'll actually go...I mean you know I don't usually like them."

"Come on Andy, you have to come!" Asher encouraged.

Andy shook her head, "I've told you a million times, parties, dances...they just aren't my thing. Besides, it's stupid to go without a date..."

Asher thought for a brief moment, "We can go together, if you want?"

"Like a date?"

Asher shrugged, "Sure, why not?"

Andy rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but laugh, " _'Sure, why not?'_ , how romantic..."

Asher chuckled, "You want romance? I can do romance."

Looking around Asher noticed a few black hellebore flowers sitting a clear vase at the end of the dining table, grabbing one, he turned back to Andrea, "Andy will you be-"

And then all he saw was black.

* * *

 **Dalton Fisher, Year 6, House Lennox**

Dalton sat in the empty Lennox common room in front of one the computers reading the message on the screen over and over again.

 _Dear Dalton,_

 _I'm so sorry to have to tell you that your mother's condition is worsening. The doctors say she only has a year left at best. She's been admitted full time to the hospital and I've been visiting her everyday and although she asked me to tell you not to worry, I know that no matter what I say, you will worry. Your mother has also asked me to tell you that she wants you to stay in school no matter what happens. I hope you are doing well in school and everything is okay there. Your mother and I really want you to know how proud we are of you and we both know you'll be successful no matter what._

 _I love you so much,_

 _Dad_

Dalton's heart sank into his chest as he finally closed the email and turned off the computer. The message was from a week ago and all Dalton could think about was his mother. Dalton was usually a very happy person. He loved pranks and mischief and was always getting into trouble, but this year was different. His mother was sick and there was nothing he could do about it to help.

Dragging himself out of the common room, Dalton headed towards the beach to clear his head. All Sempiternal students had daily access to the beach and Dalton found surfing was one of the few ways to clear his mind.

It was late in the afternoon and Dalton knew many students would be at beach, but at this point, all Dalton wanted to do was to surf quietly.

Many years ago, his muggle father had taught him how to surf and it had been Dalton's favorite thing to do ever since. The waves always managed to calm his emotions and being able to live so close to the beach was probably Dalton's favorite thing about Sempiternal.

Heading towards the beach supply shack, Dalton began to notice something very odd. Nobody seemed to be on the beach. The sand was free of any sign of any students. Usually the beach was fully populated with students working, studying, or just hanging out. It was eerily quiet and Dalton felt a jab in his gut.

Despite feeling very unnerved, Dalton entered the shack and like the beach it was completely free of people. Even the students who usually manned the shack seemed to have disappeared.

Dalton had seen people inside the castle, but he couldn't comprehend why nobody was outside. Looking around, he spotted his surfboard and was about to grab it and leave before he noticed a strange glint of light in the corner of his eye.

Whipping his head around, he headed towards the area the glint had come from. Pushing aside a few beach towels and chairs, Dalton quickly came face to face with a pile of broken glass, clearly shoved in the corner to hide it. Light from the window above the glass had hit the shards and cause the strange, almost blinding light.

The glass shard seemed to have come from a broken potion vial or bottle and only seemed to confuse Dalton more.

"What the hell is happening?" Dalton mumbled to himself as he continued to look around the shack in attempt to find any more clues. He was unsure whether to go back to the castle or to stay and investigate, and while he knew he was probably safer in the castle, he Lennox spirit fueled his curiosity and he couldn't help but continue to look around.

After not finding anything in any of the corners, Dalton headed back to the middle of shack, only feeling more confused than ever. Slowly, he walked towards the exit door and noticed a single black towel sitting under the light switches.

As far as Dalton was aware, Sempiternal never had black towels. Each house had towels with their corresponding colors, and none of the houses used black towels- ever. As soon as Dalton bent down and picked the towel up, he felt the room spinning and the next thing he knew, everything was black.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I am such a terrible author and I'm so sorry for the extreme delay! I'm afraid I don't have a very good excuse as for why this chapter is so late, I've just been so busy with the new school year starting! Please forgive me and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I should be back on schedule now :)

\- Cass


	6. Reprieve

_"Maybe the sky'll break_  
 _We're just a lie away_  
 _From proving to ourselves we're not afraid"_

 _\- Reprieve, Vallie Alps_

* * *

 **Sam Ryu Won, Year 5, House Tripp**

Sempiternal was in pure chaos.

It had been two days since the mass faintings and only one of the affected students still remained unconscious, needless to say everyone was still very on edge. Classes hadn't been cancelled, but it was clear that everyone had been quite shaken.

Students were crowding all the computer labs and the owlery to contact their parents. The staff, on the other-hand, were clearly overworked, simultaneously teaching and attempting to get to the bottom of the faintings. Sam was just thankful he hadn't been a target and could spend his weekend relaxed. Heading back to his dorm, he quickly spotted his best friend and roommate, Shelby Rickard.

Sam and Shelby were practically brothers. The two of them had very similar personalities, and while they got along extremely well, their messy habits left their dorm room with quite the reputation.

"Hey, Sam!" Shelby called from the bed as he seemed to be reading something on his magic tablet. Raised mostly as muggle, Sam never had too much magical tech, however, his Pureblood friend always seemed to have the latest technology.

Stepping over a large pile of dirty clothes, he looked at the tablet.

 _Mass Faintings Plague Sempiternal_

"Look's like the news finally got hold of what's happening here," Shelby muttered, "I just hope my owl reached home before my parents read the paper, I know they'll be freaking out otherwise."

Sam shrugged, "Perks of using email..."

"If only you could convince my parents that," Shelby replied with a slight chuckle, "I just wish we knew what was going on. The teachers won't tell us anything and pretty much everything in the news is just speculation."

Sam bit his lip, "I just think as students, we should have the right to know what's going on. We don't know anything!"

Shelby nodded in agreement, "Maybe we should investigate ourselves..."

Sam squinted, "Are you sure that's a good idea? We don't know anything about who's behind it. In fact one of the girls who fainted is still unconscious..."

"That's true, but if we sit here and wait, what's not to say more people won't get hurt? I know we're not a bunch of adventurous Lennoxes or humanitarian Glades, but we should do something. The last thing we need is to be blindsided by more faintings or something worse."

Sam sucked in a breath, "I suppose you're right. I think we should start with what we know."

"Well, we know the locations of the fainting..."

"Right, I'm guessing most of the classrooms are still going to be closed off, but I heard that they cleared the beach shack," Sam replied, "We should look there first."

"Sounds like a plan."

Pushing through another pile of clothes (possibly clean), the boys made their way out of their dorm and to the beach house. Most weekends the beach was full of students, but news of a student fainting in the storage shack seemed to have scared most of the students off. However, a few students were playing in the water or relaxing in the sand. Sam guessed they were probably a few of the Lennox students, who never seemed to be fazed by anything.

As the entered the shack, one of the student volunteers who manned the shack greeted them with a smile and a rather perky, "How may I help you?"

"We're just looking around..." Sam replied, before quietly telling Shelby, "I think it's best if we keep this quiet."

Shelby nodded as they began to wander around the shack, looking for clues. Sam guessed that it was unlikely that they would find anything, after all the teachers had already scoured through the place once. Just as Sam was about to give up, Shelby called out after him.

"Sam!" Shelby yelled from across the shack, "Come over here!"

Excited, Sam hurried over, "What? Did you find something?"

"Look!" Shelby exclaimed pointing to a bottle of Sempiternal's charmed beach shampoo.

Shrugging, Sam responded, "I don't see anything, I looks like regular shampoo..."

"No, look _carefully_! The seal is broken," Shelby replied, as he lifted the bottle, "And look, it's only half-filled. Something is clearly wrong with this bottle!"

"Be careful with that," Sam replied, slowly inching away from the shelf as Shelby unscrewed the lid.

"Well, this is definitely not shampoo."

* * *

 **Freya Bender, Year 7, House Raleigh**

"I'm not sure what's wrong. She's the last one still unconscious."

Freya slowly blinked her eyes open and noticed two blurry figures deep in discussion in front of her. Looking around as her vision cleared, she quickly realized she was in the infirmary. Her father, Professor Bender, seemed to be talking to Professor Ishani, who was in charge of the infirmary while Nurse Samzara was on maternity leave.

"Dad?" Freya asked as she blinked her bright blue eyes one more time for good measure.

"Freya!" her father exclaimed, whipping around to sit back next to his daughter, "Thank god you're okay!"

"What happened?" Freya asked, highly confused and disoriented, "The last thing I remember was passing back papers in technology."

"Sweetie, that was two days ago..." Professor Bender explained, "You and a few others all passed out. Everyone else was okay within a few hours, but for some reason, whatever happened had a longer lasting effect on you. We found you holding a black ribbon, but it didn't seem to be charmed or anything, so we're still investigating the cause of the blackouts."

Freya pushed her self into a sitting positioned and frowned, "Two days? That means I missed Friday's astronomy test. I have to go get caught up!"

"Relax sweetie, It's Saturday morning, you have the whole weekend to make everything up. Right now it's just important that you rest. We're not 100% sure as to what's going on and we really want to be careful," her father explained, bringing her a cup of water, "I rather you take it easy. Professor Ishani says that stress wouldn't be good for a person in your condition."

"Dad! You don't understand, the longer I wait to take that test, the more stressed I'm going to get," Freya replied, practically stepping out of the bed.

Professor Bender sighed, "If you take it easy the rest of day, I'll see if Professor Jean-Luc will let you take the test in the evening. I'm pretty sure he'll be fine with it. After all, you spent most of your summer helping him get settled and you've been friends for as long the longest of time, I'm sure he'll cut you some slack. By the way, you've had a lot of worried visitors, they'll be glad to know you're okay."

"Thanks, dad," Freya replied, pressing a kiss to his cheek, "And I don't think just Colette, Manny, and Aly count as a lot of people."

Her father laughed, "Well, it wasn't just them. Your whole Quidditch team came by a few times, Viola French and William Adams dropped by once, and Colette, Emmanuel, and Alyannie have been here almost as often as I have. Someone also dropped off some 'get well' flowers. You're quite popular it seems."

Freya chuckled, "Well, you know how we Raleighs are."

 **x0x0x0x0x0x0x**

"Here you go, Professor Jean-Luc," Freya said as she stood up to turn in her test, "By the way, I took the liberty of writing up a quick, formal essay to make up for my missing participation marks from Friday's class."

Professor Jean-Luc shook his head, "If we're not in class, you don't have to call me 'Professor' and please explain to me how a girl who has been in a unconscious for two days has time to write an essay."

"Writing essays relaxes me," Freya explained, "And I think it's just best if I call you Professor Jean-Luc. Now that you are actually my professor, it just feels wrong to call you Acel."

"You do realize I'm not even a year older than you?" Professor Jean-Luc replied, "And we've been friends for six years. Most people don't call their close friends 'professor'..."

"Fine, _Acel_ ," Freya responded, rolling her eyes, "But most people aren't close friends with their professors."

Professor Jean-Luc chuckled, "That is true, but I suppose the circumstances are quite unique."

"For someone from House Tripp, that's a pretty good point," Freya responded with a bit a of smirk.

Professor Jean-Luc simply shook his head, "I know what you're doing and it's not going to work."

Freya shrugged, "Flattery was worth a try. Anyways I should be heading out. I'm going to the library to catch up on everything else I missed."

"See you on Tuesday," Professor Jean-Luc replied, "By the way I'm really glad you're okay."

"Thanks for the flowers."

Professor Jean-Luc grinned, "How did you know they were from me?"

"I know you too well," Freya responded, "Besides, you're the only person I know who'd send 'get well' flowers."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Please don't hate me! I know it's been forever and this is a super short chapter, but I thought you guys would prefer something instead of nothing. I've just been so busy with real life and honestly, I've just had real bad writer's block. I promise I'm not going to give up on this!

\- Cass

P.S. Because I've had such bad writer's block with this story, I've started another one. It's about the Hunger Games, so if you're into that, I'd be so grateful if you checked that out! It's called: Immunity: The 200th Hunger Games


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